A computer-aided system for an optimal moulding conditions design using a simulation-based approach

Abstract

Moulding conditions design refers to parameter settings of moulding conditions such as melt temperature, mould temperature and injection time. They are important factors in plastic injection moulding design. The determination of these parameters is a highly skilled job and has largely been dependent on injection moulding engineers' experience and intuitiveness. In this paper, the authors present a flexible computer-aided system to assist the designers by using simulation-based technology. One of the most prominent characteristics of the system is that it allows the designers to specify their intended quality measuring criteria such as minimum cavity pressure and shear stress, a uniform distribution of cooling time, end-of-fill temperature and volumetric shrinkage. The system uses weighted criteria as an objective function to determine optimal moulding conditions when multiple criteria are specified. Moldflow simulation results are used to compare different designs. A two-step exhaustive search strategy (from coarse to refined) is used to search for a near-optimal design.